Putin Sees Change as Dangerous and has Convinced Many that Progress isn’t Necessary, Inozemtsev Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 19 – Most rulers recognize that change is inevitable and either go with the flow in an opportunistic fashion or seek to exploit change to boost their own goals, but Vladimir Putin is different: he views from the outset all change as “dangerous and destructive,” Vladislav Inozemtsev says. And he has convinced many Russians that he is right.

            His ability to do so, the Russian commentator says, is truly “amazing” especially in that he has succeeded in convincing others of his view that “progress is not obligatory, including those who can see this reality on a daily and even hourly basis” (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=6285C03C0F6F4).

            Putin’s leadership is “based not on his anticipation of future trends but rather on their complete ‘zeroing out’ – and in this, as everyone can see, this works to his advantage” even with those who would benefit from such changes and not just those who think they have it good now and will suffer if change comes.

            His belief in the unacceptability of change is masked to a certain extent by his conviction that some changes are going to happen, such as the disintegration of the European Union or the decline of the US as a superpower, views that cause some observers to see him as a more typical leader who seeks to exploit change to his own advantage, Inozemtsev says.

            Those changes, of course, represent a return to an even earlier time, something Putin favors. But “even those who recognize that his predictions won’t prove true listen with fascination to him and say that he may be right in some way,” given that anything from the past is always easier to understand that something from a future as yet unknown.

            Putin is getting away with his opposition to real changes because of “the global crisis of leadership,” Inozemtsev says. He has succeeded by “inventing a reality” rather than paying attention to what reality really is. In fact, “the invention of reality has become the lifework of the Russian political elite and for the time being has brought them huge dividends.”

            But the Russian analyst says there is a problem: “factional reality sometimes collides with the objective one.” And when that happens, “no power of the spirit can help.” When a new generation of leaders emerge with plans for reconstructing the world, Putin’s fantasies about a world without change will dissolve into thin air.